Teaching Portuguese at the beginning of the 20th century: analysis of Virgínia Gersão’s unpublished document

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the unpublished document Como eu ensino o português na II classe dos Liceus, written in 1923 by the Portuguese teacher Virgínia Faria Gersão (1896-1974), in order to reflect on the teaching of the mother tongue in high schools at that time. This study focuses on reading and writing competences, due to the fundamental role that these domains have in the learning process. The aim of this paper is to reveal the author’s vision of reading and writing and the strategies she proposes and applies in her teaching practice. This is an investigation based on a historical and hermeneutic methodology, which is based on a confrontation of different types of sources, namely the programmatic and curricular guidelines for the learning of the Portuguese language and the document written by the teacher at the end of her studies at the ‘Escola Normal Superior da Universidade de Coimbra’. As a result, this paper provides a greater understanding of teacher training at the time in Portugal and a greater understanding of the teaching of Portuguese in high schools in the early twentieth century. In parallel, it allows us to conclude that the teaching practice of Virgínia Gersão can be identified with an innovative approach to pedagogy, coming closer to the ideals of “The New School”.